One of only two female billionaires on the continent, Folorunso Alakija: Let’s Learn From Each Other
Folorunso Alakija |
One of only two female billionaires on the continent, Folorunso Alakija is galvanizing African millennials with a new empowerment platform.
Folorunso Alakija needs no introduction. As one of only two female
billionaires in Africa, she has become an icon of enterprise. Alakija,
through her philanthropic work with the Rose of Sharon Foundation, a
movement she pioneered to help the plight of women and orphans in
Nigeria, has been an advocate of women’s rights and the vital role women
play in socioeconomic development. She recently launched her women’s
empowerment platform, Flourish Africa, to galvanize
women in Nigeria and
across Africa to gain access to life-changing tools and advice. In an
exclusive interview with FORBES WOMAN AFRICA, she sat down after the
launch of the Flourish Africa conference to tell us how she plans to
impact millennial African women:What do you hope to accomplish with Flourish Africa?
I am sure we all remember the interview of Indra K. Nooyi, CEO of
Pepsico, at the Aspen Ideas festival in 2014, where she gave her very
honest take on the growing debate on women and work-life balance. She
described the need to have sacrifices and that having it all was just an
illusion. Over the years, I have had a great deal of engagement with a
lot of young women both in Africa and all over the world and the one
thing they ask me is ‘Can a woman have it all’? I realized that a lot of
young women are desperate to understand the keys they need to achieve
their fullest potential and become what I believe God has ordained for
them to become. So I thought to myself, how can we develop a platform
that not only helps young women with practical steps and guidance to
help them in their career, relationships and all aspects of their lives,
but also provide mentorship from women who have achieved the levels of
success they aspire to achieve also. Flourish Africa was created to
serve that purpose. We have an online platform, an app and we hold
biannual conferences that bring female thought leaders from all over the
world together under one roof with young millennials in a day of
idea-sharing and life-changing messages that will help them grow.
What do you think is the most important management skill necessary for women to become leaders?
I believe that leadership happens when you are able to empower and
inspire others to achieve a set of goals. I think the responsibility
lies with the individual to be able to employ all their skills and
abilities to help bring others up in order to ensure they contribute to
the overall growth of the organization. I believe women have the ability
to show great leadership skills and those at the top need to tap into
their sense of purpose and effectively communicate that purpose so
everybody within the organization clearly understands what is needed
from them in order to achieve their common goal.
How can women break free from the cultural stereotypes that have led to greater gender disparity in Nigeria?
A lot of work needs to be done on that front. For years, women have
been told what type of roles they are supposed to play in society, the
types of jobs they are supposed to do and so on. I was and still am one
of the only prominent women in the Nigerian oil sector and I know the
stigma and the challenges I had to overcome in order to succeed in that
sector. I believe the problem requires a change in mindset for women in
Africa. I believe that change will require support from all women in
order to come together and set our own standards. Gender stereotypes
have been one of the main barriers to women achieving leadership
positions in Africa. These stereotypes are usually predicated on what
many believe are the capabilities of women and that needs to be
addressed before women can break free. At Flourish Africa, we showcase
in our inspirational section, women who have been able to change that
narrative and the impact they have been able to make through that change
to hopefully inspire more women to break free and achieve their fullest
potential.
How will you address the issue of financial literacy for African women?
I think women in Africa are amongst one of the most enterprising and
entrepreneurial in the world. We are hard-working and our ability to
multi-task makes us natural born entrepreneurs. For years, women could
not receive bank loans and other facilities readily available to men and
until we get the same level of financial freedom, women will continue
to remain marginalized. I am a firm believer that women need to be
financially empowered to possess the right knowledge and understanding
of financial matters. That is an aspect we take very seriously and with
the help of our partners, many of whom are leaders in some of the
largest financial institutions in Africa, we help shape policies that
will enable our young female entrepreneurs to gain access to sound
financial principles in areas like investment advice, compound interest
and the advantages of savings as well as real estate and tax. The
Flourish Africa woman is a well-grounded woman who thrives in all
aspects of her life and that includes having access to the right
financial tools as well.
Do you think there is anything African women can teach other women in the world?
I think no matter where we are all from, we can all learn from each
other. I think there is a great sense of community in Africa. We are
natural homemakers as well as entrepreneurial but that’s not to say
women from other parts of the world aren’t. I think our sense of culture
and our rich African heritage is something we need to be proud of and
share with the rest of the world. It is time for people to see how
wonderful our continent is and I believe it’s up to all of us to be the
ambassadors of that message to the rest of the world.
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